An Alaskan journalist's perspective on local and national issues

Posts tagged ‘Anchorage’

This is the question that has bee wracking my mind since I first registered to vote back when I was 19. I was registered in the 2008 year, when I was excited to be a part of the political system. This decision carried a lot of weight. But then I was starting to really get into the act of getting to know the system that I was voting in, the people I was voting for. Learning the specifics of this country, and what made it flow.

Now, before that time, I had been a man who kept up on current events, but I never really dug all that deep into things. I was young. But this was the point where the political ideas that I have that guide a lot of who I am were developing. My growth was a person has been guided by the late nights that I and my late fiance had discussing things. Her passing marked an occasion where I was sitting up alone, pondering this. The nights alone have been long indeed.

After becoming more aware of the system, the flaws and the failures, I gradually started to get the viewpoint that America is broken, on many levels. The absolute corruption of this government is visceral. Our politicians are bought and paid for. The legislation that is getting passed is absolutely worthless. This isn’t just hyperbole. This isn’t just stating things and making no evidence. I could go into exhaustive detail about how legislation is obviously biased toward one side, the corporate side. It can’t be argued at this point.

But I continued to vote, for one reason – the belief that on some level, maybe not the national level, but maybe at the local level, I could make a difference. My vote couldn’t affect anything substantial on a national level, since the options there were absolutely just corporate shill A or corporate shill B. But maybe, on a local level, I could change things. This belief has fallen away.

There has been an event here in the city I live, Anchorage, Alaska. This event has shaken my very beliefs about not only the merits of democracy, but also the voting public in general. It was a municipal election. I won’t go into too much detail, since I have already talked this point to death. Quite simply, there was a Proposition to get rid of a landlord or employer’s ability to descriminate against a person because of their sexual orientation, which according to the state’s current Title 5, they can.

The Prop didn’t pass, and anyone who has been following this tragic affair as it has been unfolding knows, it was a complete and utter fraud. What happened that day was no accident, as was reported in the Anchorage Daily News. The linked article and many others all over Alaska have shown that this was deliberate rigging of an election. And what has been the recourse? Nothing. Almost nothing has been done. The Anchorage voters are just being told by the Anchorage Assembly to just accept it, and move on.

We are being asked to accept an election that has been proven to be fraudulent. That has been proven to be rigged. We are being told that this is just something we should allow. Not by all the Assembly members, of course. Elvi Gray-Jackson was thankfully willing to say that there needs to be an outside investigation. But her voice is among the tragic few. The public has been voicing their being appalled at this. The public (to a point), has said that this is so absolutely awful. Yet the public has gone unheeded, and nothing is being done. Nothing substantial. There should be an investigation by the ACLU. There should be another election. This whole dilemma should be having this whole process be declared invalid, because the people do not accept it. And yet, nothing is being done. Hopefully, maybe, something will be done, but as of right now, we are just being asked to accept it, and move on.

This whole affair has left my faith in what little I could believe in when it came to the system of this country’s government shaken, and after reading that article that I linked above, I have come to the conclusion to the question in the title.

No, voting does not work.

Now, let me explain my position, because I am not just going to make the usual “it’s the system, man!” arguments. I am not going to be like, “it’s all these corrupt politicians, man!” statements, because I believe the problem goes deeper than that. But before I do go into it, let me put some context as to what I know a person who opposes my position believes.

My friend Heather believes that through voting, you have a voice in government. There was a time when I believed that argument, and went with her on it, too. However, examining the way things work in this government, it isn’t so simple.

Every election cycle, the people will talk about the politicians and how corrupt the system is. That’s true, but nobody ever cuts to the meat of the existential nut – why? Why is the system so unbelievably rigged? Why does Corporate America have such a strangle-hold on America’s politics? You see, the truth is that one of the reasons that I don’t see voting as worthwhile is because none of the options are any better than the other.

Let’s take a look at the Presidential elections that are coming up. We have Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate, and Barack Obama as the current President running against him. Mitt Romney is against abortion, and all sorts of other talking points of the Republican Party that we have seen for years. But what about President Obama?

Well, he has pretty much franchised Guantanamo Bay. Health Care Reform was a birthday present to the private insurance companies. He backed and even asked for the amendments to NDAA that stipulated that American citizens can now be held indefinitely without trial or charge. He gave the Republicans even more than they had asked before with the continuation of the Bush Tax Cuts. The debt ceiling agreement he came to was obscene. This man has shown himself to be an absolute turncoat to his own principles. If, of course, he actually had any to begin with. If you follow his campaign, there was a lot of talk about “hope,” but never much about what was to be done.

So, on one side, a corporate shill who is rolling back progress one “compromise” at a time, and on the other side, a corporate shill who wants to roll back progress one “victory” at a time. That is who we have. And the senators and representatives we elect are no better. To get anywhere in politics in this country, you need corporate backing. This is the system we live in. So, if voting is your voice, then your voice is kind of limited. Limited between Corrupt Option A and Corrupt Option B. And who is to blame for that?

The biggest reason that I have decided that I am done voting is because the fact is that if you want to know the real reason for the system in this country being such a complete and utter failure – the voting public. The fact is that the public, both liberal and conservative, has failed this country, and I don’t hold the politicians responsible for what has gone wrong. I will complain about what they do, but I fully understand that the public is enabling these people. The public in this country at large has become so complacent and so docile and pedicured that it doesn’t matter who you vote for.

The voice of the people has been channeled. There will be those who will come and say, “but we can elect better people into office.” Time was, I might have believed that. But now, we have a people who, at their core are selfish, entitled and don’t even bother following what the issues are. Liberals and conservatives are guilty of just getting onto a bandwagon, never stopping to question why, or what that bandwagon stands for.

But where do people think these politicians come from? They don’t fall out of the sky. They don’t pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents, American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities. And they’re elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do, folks! This is what we have to offer. This is what our system produces. Garbage in, garbage out.

He is absolutely right. The public is absolutely worthless and toothless, and because of that, we have rampant corruption because the politicians aren’t scared. But nobody wants to hear that. America doesn’t like it when a mirror is shined at them in a not so flattering way. That’s against the American way.

A government should be legitimately afraid of its people. There should be some fear that if they don’t fly right, the people will rise up and put them in their place, even if violence is how that has to happen. But this government doesn’t have that.

There are no decent politicians and systems that are waiting, just that one vote away. Our system produces people in it only for themselves, and not caring about everyone else. This isthe best we can do. So I reject the notion 100% that voting is your voice. Your voice is gone, replaced by the options you pick.

With that in mind, like Carlin, I am staying home on the next election cycle, and I can complain because I didn’t help put these people who are making this mess into office. I didn’t contribute to this problem. Rather, I am here, trying to talk to all of you, and trying to tell you that there has to be a greater change in our way of thinking before I will be back to the polls. And should it come to pass, I will be first in line. That is a guarantee.

But don’t count on it. This country is too busy watching Glee, and shopping at the mall. It’s the American way. They say that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. I reject that notion. People who see evil and do nothing aren’t good.

They are merely…patriotic.

Peace out,

Lefty

(as an endnote, I want to make it clear that I respect Heather’s position, and that this is my own position. Above anything and everything, I ask that you come to your own conclusions. Don’t take what I say as gospel. This column’s dedication above all else is to be about having people think, on their own. If you disagree, post a comment, and I won’t reply, but I will put it up)

This may not seem like the most pressing issue that can be talked about in a year of turbulence and craziness all over America’s political sphere, but honestly, this is worth talking about, because despite how active a person is, they need to realize that sometimes, you just have to take a break and have fun. This concert was a perfection occasion to do so.

This performance was one of those things that a person will see maybe once in their entire life. Everything about this was amazing. It was total and complete perfection in every way. Chris Botti’s performance was just as much about him as it was about everybody else on that stage tonight. He is one of the few really great musicians who fully recognizes that he would be nothing without those who are with him, and he was so cool.

This group couldn’t have had better on-stage chemistry. Their solo numbers were just as cool Botti. He also had two guests with him, who each played amazing roles in this concert. The first was Caroline Campbell, making her debut on stage with him. She is also in his newest album, “Impressions,” as well. The next was a woman who had actually sung with the Rolling Stones, Lisa Fischer. Both of these women did an amazing job.

I know that I am talking about how great this is, but honestly, it was. This night was what all great concerts should be. It was joy, it was pain, it was rapture, it was passion, it was sadness, it was all the emotions and none of them at all. To be in that place, and to be a part of the music that happened here, it was one of the few nights where one could actually forget about the world.

But Botti didn’t just have stage charisma, he also had audience charisma. Early in the show, he asked how many of the people in the audience had played music. There were two boys who said that they had. For the final number, he had them come up on stage with his band and play the drums. He also had their dad come up and film it on his iPhone, saying that this was going to be something that he wanted to keep. Too right. I have no doubt that this man has done something that those boys will remember, FOREVER! To be in that place, how could you not?!

This was an amazing night, and honestly, I wish it didn’t have to end. To have this kind of experience, it is a once and a life-time opportunity.

It’s no mystery to the people who know me that I don’t think that voting means much. It’s ironic that when I saw in an article tonight my friend Heather’s husband, John Aronno make the point that George Carlin made a career (which I don’t truly believe, but it was a part of his beliefs) out of saying that voting doesn’t matter. Carlin was right when he said about our politicians –

They come from American families in American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities. And they’re elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do, folks! This is what we have to offer. It’s what our system produces. Garbage in, garbage out.

I love that Carlin was such a sharp mind. Even up to his dying days, he was one of the most intelligent people who has graced the stage in about 50 years. Now, unlike Carlin, I gripe and complain about the things that American politicians do, but that’s just because it is my schtick. However, I also vote, but not because I believe in it.

Not for two seconds do I believe that it does any good. I just do it to say that I did, and to hope that maybe, just maybe, this time, it won’t lead to some ignorant, overpaid and underworked pseudo-celebrity jackass running my country and leading it into ruin. That maybe the guy or gal that I vote for won’t be one of the corrupt aristocracy that runs this country.

But like John, I do think that on the municipal level, I can make a difference, and I do take some comfort in that. In this last election, however, I lost that belief. I lost it because I saw open and blatant subversion of democracy. This wasn’t a partially flawed election. This was an outright fraud. The illegitimacy of this election is obvious to anybody here in Anchorage paying even a modicum of attention.

He wrote in a post about a young woman who made an impassioned statement at the assembly meeting. I won’t put it up here, because I didn’t hear it, and I don’t want to feel that I took away from this, because I have a feeling that if I had been there, I would have been beyond angry. Rage would have coursed through me as I could listen to Honeman continue to defend this, to defend the people who are allowing this.

This woman says that voting is your voice, and while I want to agree, I don’t. The reason that I don’t agree is that I don’t share most people’s belief in the general goodness of humanity. I have absolutely no faith in the human race. None whatsoever. I believe that people are dumb, stupid, dangerous animals that are our own worst enemy. BUt I’m not advocating for that belief. As a friend of mine has pointed out, it is fairly toxic to the mind, and I admit, I’m not a happy person. That is who I have chosen to be. Wading in to the river of crap that runs this country, trying to sort it all out.

But you know what I think is that Catch-22 of this whole debacle here in Anchorage, and with John’s post? People want to believe that their vote matters, that they are making a difference, and this is good. But I think the reason that so many people have just given up is that they are not given a reason to care. Now, with this local election, we are seeing that even that can be rigged, can be fraudulent, can be invalid. And when the government officials who we are saying need to hold this whole mess accountable do nothing, can you honestly blame them?

Remember the good old days, when the increasingly irrelevant Glenn Beck was on the air and he was talking about how the liberals were going to start FEMA death camps and how the socials marxist communists were going to come for your guns and have euthanasia be required? Well, those sorts of conversations still go on all over the country. Fox News has been carrying the torch for the “liberals are coming for you” rhetoric.

Of course, the reason why they are using this rhetoric is simple – to get their base to the polls. George Bush II won the 2004 elections because Karl Rove was a brilliant tactician (along with Kerry not calling Bush out, at all) who used the bigotry of these people as a weapon, by bringing up gay marriage in states that everyone knew weren’t going to pass it. Much like Prop. 5 here in Anchorage, once you say the word “gay,” the bigots flock to make sure their bigoted opinions are known.

However, there is a problem in the Republican Party. The base is dying. They have alienated almost every single group. Minorities, for the most part, left their bandwagon years ago. The LGBT community won’t have anything to do with them. The latest war on women has officially gotten them away from the party too. So, if you only have middle to senior-aged white men as your base, what do you do? The answer is easy – subvert democracy by rigging voting.

Voter suppression is nothing new in America, of course. Back when this country was founded, only the wealthy white men got to vote. Minorities and women were fresh out of luck there. And there are plenty of Republicans who are trying to get back to that. Don’t believe me? Well, the evidence speaks for itself.

34 states have passed or are working to pass laws that make it so that voters have to show photo IDs. 15 states have passed or are working to pass laws that say you have to have your birth certificate or passport to be able to vote. 16 states have or are working to pass laws would end same-day voter registration. 9 states have passed or are working to pass laws to end early voting. 4 states are working to pass laws to get rid, outright, of absentee voting. 3 states have passed laws that restrict voter registration drives. All of this work has been done in the last year.

The mission goal is pretty clear – stop people from getting to the polls. Their tactics are decisive and swift. This isn’t something that can be debated, because we are seeing it happen now. Over 21% of Americans don’t have government-issued ID’s. The bulk of the people who don’t are minorities, the elderly, and college students. Care to guess where most of them vote? They generally vote liberal.

It has even been seen on a scale that nobody pays attention to. Here in Anchorage, Alaska, the latest municipal election was obviously a fraud. The voting booths ran out of ballots is how it all went down. However, in spite of this clear violation of the law, there aren’t going to be new elections, or even an outside investigation. The Assembly simply decided to accept what has happened, and are telling everybody to basically just move on. This is unacceptable.

However, it is efficient, and in a country where the conservative party is rapidly dying on its feet, this is what it has to do in order to maintain power. They know that they can’t win this upcoming presidential election on fair terms, because not only will the disheartened liberals like myself side with Obama out of the principle of not having Romney put in office, but the GOP voters at large have no love for Romney, since he has proven that he is a flip-flopping croney capitalist who doesn’t believe in anything.

This is what the future of America is looking like. Instead of politics being a rational and reasonable discussion of values and what is to happen next, we instead get to listen to rhetoric on one side that liberals are all nazis coming to kill you, and conservatives are…well, actually, the rhetoric about them is true.

They want to subvert democracy to keep themselves in power, and the money flowing into only a few people’s hands.

While One Anchorage is not ready to declare that it is over, the writing on the wall seems to be the Proposition 5 (the new proposition that would have amended Title 5, sections 1-8 to prohibit discrimination for things like maintaining a job or getting housing based on sexual orientation) has failed.

A great deal of work has been put into this. So many people gave so much time and effort. But, as was seen with Ordinance 64 (the previous version of this bill), this issue showed just how easy it is to rally a bigoted base against a cause that they are “morally” opposed to.

There argument was that this was “inhibiting religious freedom.” Never mind that the section of Title 5 that dealt with religious institutions, section 9, would not have been affected by this. Religious institutions could show preferential treatment to whomever they liked. But the truth didn’t matter to the “Protect Your Rights” campaign.

Their message was that these gays, lesbians and transgendered peoples were going to be like a seedy lot of evil monsters. This kind of propaganda is nothing new. When gay marriage has come up in other states, they try to dress it up really nice, talking abour rights and “morality.” The truth is that we have allowed this government to pretty much openly endorse discrimination.

Such a sad reality, that. American politicians have openly talked about how homosexuality is wrong. They talk about how God is the one to look up to, even though we have a 1st Amendment, and his book is filled with some of the worst morals there are.

To people like Jim Minnery, the head of the Alaska Family Council, believe it is a conflict of “values.” But what values are these people spreading by openly getting people to work against social progress? They are saying that they value bigotry, because an employer could find out that you are gay and fire you on the spot. They are saying that they value the spread of hatred, by having the people believe that these kinds of people are not worthy of respect or fairness. They are saying that they value a system of beliefs that is 2,000 years old, from a desert filled with people that America is also openly discriminating against more than they do decency and kindness.

It’s not a question that there is discrimination against the LGBT community here in Anchorage. Go to Mad Myrna’s on any day of the week and you can find this out. Take a look at some of the signs that were being held up at the battle over Ordinance 64 and you’ll see where a good chunk of the population stands.

However, many will argue that most people are not like that. Most people don’t discriminate, and most people are accepting. Here’s the problem with that – where were they yesterday? Now, I will give that there were problems with the ballots, and this is an issue that I am very curious to see how it is resolved. I’m not much for conspiracies, but that does seem to be a point of interest. However, there were options, and the people could have come out in greater numbers.

The fact is that the group who is against gay rights is so much more able to mobilize their voting base, and this is something that progressives and liberals need to learn, because the fact is that the more people think that things will turn out alright, and that they don’t have to get involved, the more we are watching progress in this country get rolled back.

We are in a culture war, and the left is losing. Badly. Every compromise, every deal that is struck is only to stave off the madness, while the smaller battles are being won by those who want to get rid of all progress. This needs to be paid attention to. But don’t take my word for it. I’m just a petty journalist who sees the writing on the wall.

There was a panel discussion about Proposition 5 at UAA tonight. For the few Anchorage residents who don’t know, there is an issue that is up for a vote on April 3rd. It is to extend the Title 5 protections, Sections 1-8, to include sexual orientation as a protected status when seeking employment or residence.

Like Ordinance 64, this issue is generating a great deal of criticism from the Christian-right. The organizations leading the “Protect your Rights” (the opposition) effort are the Alaska Family Council and Focus on the Family. One Anchorage is heading up the efforts in support of this proposition.

The attendence to this panel discussion was beyond dismal. There were 23 people in total. There was nobody from the opposition, including as one of the speakers. it seems the speaker against it was going to be Daniel MacDonald. There were two speakers in support, Brett Frazer, and a man named Blake. MacDonald was all the only opposition, because Jim Minnery, the President of Alaska Family Council, could not find a student to represent the AFC.

Frazer opened by saying that he had a family member (whose name he withheld for privacy reasons) who had been in the military, and was finally able to come out with the veto of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. However, even with that, she was still discriminated against, both at work and in her daily life. Her partner feared daily if it ever got out that she was a partner to another woman. There was a rather appropriate quote by Frazer –

“Discrimination is still very real in Anchorage.”

Next up there was the opening argument by Blake. He had three points. The first was that descrimination still exists. When Mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed Ordinance 64, he remarked that discrimination no longer exists, which was his justification for doing so. The second was that employees are being fired for being gay. In some cases, a boss can look at your Facebook page and can use that as a way to find out who you are. The third was that this wasn’t just hurting people’s livelihoods’, but also doing societal damage.

Since there was nobody to speak for the opposition, the floor opened up to questions. The first was if a person could be sent to jail or fined because of Prop. 5. Brett took this, and the answer was – only if they lied to investigators. However, this had nothing to do with Prop. 5.

The next question was – if there was a case made for discrimination, where was the burden of proof? Again, Brett took this. The burden of proof is on the person making the claim. And they only have a limited window to make it – 180 days. There is a public hearing (which is an odd term, considering that they are private), which does not fit with the opposition’s narrative that there is no hearing, and the book gets immediately thrown at businesses.

The big question that has been fueling the opposition against Prop. 5 is – will this affect religious freedom? The answer was obviously no. Proposition 5 affects Title 5, sections 1-8, but not section 9. Section 9 is in reference to religious institutions. Only for-profit businesses will feel the brunt of this. Of course, it was also brought up – what constitutes a religious institution? What about religious campgrounds? Brett and Blake acknowledged that there was some ambiguity in regards to that, but churches were guaranteed to not be affected. However, Brett made a point that this ambiguity was not a reason to vote against it, but rather to lobby to have some work done on this law.

One point that Brett made was saying what Prop. 5 is not. It is not, “equal rights for everybody.” In fact, this does not give the LGBTQ community the same rights as everybody else. Instead, it gets them 90% of the way there. This is the best that the gay community could hope for. That’s depressing enough in and of itself.

Since this was an incredibly fast discussion, because of the dismal attendence and there being no identifiable presence against Prop. 5, they moved on to the closing statements. Brett said that he didn’t want to wake up on April 4th and find Anchorage the same place it was. That this proposition needed to pass.

Blake then said that Title 5 works, and the oppositions scare tactics against this Proposition were simply unfounded. There have been no massive imprisonments and fines. This law works, and that Prop. 5 needed to be add sexual orientation to the groups of people who can’t be discriminated against.

And that’s it. Quick, simple, and totally, totally pointless. There was one attendee, a UAA student named Ceezar Martinson, who had the best thoughts about this. This night was a complete waste of time for two reasons. 1. the turnout is pathetic. This is a very clear indicator of how many people actually care about their democracy, and their future. Even if you knew how you were going to vote, as Brett said, by being in that room, we were already more enlightened than those not in the room, because we were hearing about this issue, and good questions were being asked.

2. The opposition didn’t even care enough to show up. Everybody seems so sure that this is going to pass. Everybody I have talked to. They seem to think that no significant number of people would vote against it. But as was seen with Ordinance 64, the opposition to this is fierce, and there is a very good chance that this proposition will fail. And when it does, the voters will have nobody to blame but themselves. The opposition is real, and they are doing their damndest to make sure that their base is out there, voting against this.

So, if Proposition 5 fails, it will be because when there are people trying to reach out to the community and keep them informed, they don’t even bother to show up, or get the people they know who are confused to go and learn. This is voter failure, and I am starting to not have sympathy for these people.

It isn’t often that a rather poor college student gets to go to something fun like this. But Lady Luck decided to be kind and offer an olive branch. Sheer chance got us into this performance, and a good thing too. It was a lot of fun.

A little background first, for those who don’t know. Macbeth is an opera by Giuseppi Verde. It is the operatic version of the play by William Shakespeare. Since it is an opera, instead of a play, it is shorter than the original production, but in this case, that isn’t so bad.

This version of the performance, put on by the the Anchorage Opera group, at the Discovery Theatre in the Performing Arts Center (PAC). This was the last show, so that made it especially nice. If one is going to a big number like this, it is always better to be at the first show or the last. In this case, the final show was definitely worth it. It was clear that all the performers were putting their all into it.

The First Act was very nice. The introduction of the characters was handled very well. There was Macbeth, portrayed by Todd Thomas. He had a very commanding tone, which worked well. Along with him was Banquo, who was by far the best performer of the group. He was done by Derrick Parker. His lyrical tone worked very well in this performance. There was a kind of jovial method to his work, even at the very serious parts. That’s very good for a performer.

Then there was Lady Macbeth, performed by Brenda Harris. Although she didn’t seem as manipulative as her character was meant to be, she was in no way bad at the role. Her voice work was amazing, especially some of the high notes, which can’t have been easy to do.

The First Act also introduced the witches. They are by far my favorite part. Both of the play and the opera. The sets for them were very nice, with stony pieces that make it look like Stonehenge. There were also lights that make it look like fireplaces. The whole dark ambience of the opera was very well done. It was very reminiscent of the original play.

The large choral numbers were also very well done. With the witches, it was the most fun, because of the dark tones, but all of them were done well.

Of course, there were some issues. But of those, most had nothing to do with the play. One problem was that the audience seemed compelled to applaud every couple of minutes. Now, it’s not a bad thing to enjoy a performance, and to signify this enjoyment. Far from it. This is a very good thing. But when it is happening every couple minutes, it slows down the performance, and probably makes things more difficult for the performers, who have to slow down their rhythm for this. Any acting has a rhythm to it. When you are rehearsing, it is developed. But when the audience interrupts, that makes things more complicated. Of course, that is speculation on my part.

The other issue was rather amusing. It was the choreography of the battle sequence in the third act. Of course, that isn’t a criticism, since these people were there to do an opera, not fight a battle. Still, it was funny how silly some of the fighting was. But again, it’s understandable.

In any case, the show is done. There are no more to see. So, if you missed it, sucks to be you. It was quite a show.